Saturday, October 12, 2013

Do you remember
how I decorated my house for fall? After writing that post, I wanted to sew
some pillowcases for the pillows we have on the couch. I had some fabric left
from my fabric flowers and wanted to use them.

So, I asked our
family's sewing expert, my grandma, for advice about pillowcases and she
started talking about zippers and envelopes and folding and cutting... I felt
so overwhelmed! I wanted something simple and qick, I don't have much spare
time to spend on decoration so I had to find a way to sew 3 pillowcases in
under an hour...

So, I thought of a
simpler way to sew them, which may sound too sloppy, but trust me, you won't
believe how amazing your pillowcases will look! All you're gonna need is: a pillow,
fabric, measuring tape (or ruler, or cutting mat), a pencil, a chalker's pen
(or a regular pencil) and a sewing machine.

Let's start!

The first step is
to measure your pillow. Mine is 50 x 60 cm. Then, we put the pillow on our
piece of fabric to make sure it fits.

What you need to
remember is that you won't cut the fabric in the same dimensions as your
pillow, but you're gonna leave some extra space as seam allowance when sewing.
So, I added 3 cm in each side, and my final piece of fabric was 53cm x 63 cm.

As you can see in
the photo, my fabric is slightly bigger than the pillow.

You are gonna use this first piece of fabric as a
guide to cut your second piece of fabric. BUT be careful, there is a small
difference here which I am about to explain..

Put your first piece of fabric on top of your bolt
(your original piece of fabric), making sure that there is some extra space on
one side. Look at the photo, where the scissors are, there is plenty of fabric
left on this side.

We need this side to be a bit bigger in order to
create an envelope for our pillowcase.

Cut all the 3 sides using your first piece of fabric
as a guide and before cutting this side put your hand as a guide, leave some
space and then cut (See the photo)

You now have two pieces of fabric, one slightly bigger
than the other.

Let's create the envelope. Take the second piece of
fabric, the bigger one, and cut it in half. try to make a straight cut, it
doesn't matter if you cut exactly in the middle, but it has to be straight.

Now put all of your pieces together, right sides
facing each other on the inside. You'll see that you are close to the end.

What you need to do now is to secure the ends of the
two small pieces of fabric you cut before, so they don't frey. You can hem them
if you have a surger but if you don't it's ok. This can easily be done with a
sewing machine.

The ends I am talking about are those facing each
other in the middle of the pillowcase. Start with the first piece. Fold it
twice on the inside, about 1/2 cm each time and secure with pins. Do the same
with the second piece of fabric.

This is how it will look when you're done.

And now it's time for sewing... You'll sew a straight
stitch right in the middle of the folded part (see photo). Remove pins as you
sew and backsitch at the end.

This is the result. Do the same with the second piece
of fabric.

And you're almost done! Now let's put all the pieces
together. BE CAREFUL! The right sides of your fabric should be facing each
other. Put the big piece of fabric (the first one you cut), with the right side
facing up. Then put your two smaller pieces of fabroc with their right sides
facing down. Take a look at the photo for help.

Once you're done, turn your pillowcase right side out,
and you're ready! This is your pillowcase!!

Now go, sit on your machine and start sewing.. Make as
many pillowcases as you like, choose pretty fabric and redecorate your home! It
doesn't matter if your pillow is bigger or smaller, the method is the same, you
just adjust the dimensions :)

I made 3 pillowcases for my couch and I love them!

If you like my tutorial and try it, I would love to
see photos! You can e-mail me at athina@craftaholic.gr. You can also send any
questions that may come up about this tutorial.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Today is a very
special day for me. I've been meaning to make these fabric baskets for over a
year, but for some reason I've been putting it off.

Until last week. I
decided to make some boxes to organize our drawers and somehow I ended up
sewing fabric baskets for Craftaholic's collection..

I made different
sets of baskets that can be combined...

A yellow elephant
on a light blue polka dot fabric...

The inside fabric
is white cotton, with dinosaurs, elephants and cats..

A second basket
matches with the first one.. The white fabric is on the outside and the light
blue fabric is on the inside...

And now the
romantic ones... A basket with felt flowers... another one with a delicious
cupcake... and the third one with princesses...

Here's a photo of
how they look inside...

And this one is my
favorite... A gorgeous sea green fabric with felt clouds...

Craftaholic's
fabric baskets are made of 100% cotton fabric. The lining fabric matches the
outside and fusible interfacing is attached between them to help the baskets
stand.

They are
decorative boxes which can be used for organizing many spaces... You can put
the baby's stuff inside, diapers, comb, baby wipes, burp clothes, bibs and also
decorate the nursery... You can store your kid's toys, his pencils, his books..
If you are a crafter, you can store your crafting supplies, your threads, your
scissors, your patterns... And of course, these boxes are perfect to store your
jewelry...

The baskets
measure approximately 28 x 17 cm and can be made in any color combibnation you
like.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

I've been waiting
for this day for a long time.. And yesterday, I gotWendi'smessage! The photo shoots were
done, the photos were ready!

But first, let's
go back in time.. Last year I had an idea for Christmas decorations... An
owl family, which represents the members of a real family. My first drafts were
originally plain, and then I decided to embroider a name on each owl, to make
them even more unique.. I made a few and gave them as gifts to some of my
friends! They were thrilled!

So, this year I
wanted to photograph my owls in the hands of a real family! I spoke withWendiand she gave me some amazing
ideas! I started sewing her own family, mommy Wendi, daddy Travis, little
Claire and little Maddox! I wanted to thank her for everything and make her
some special ornaments.

Once she got my
parcel, she did a casting call and the cutest family ever answered, Benischek
family! Seriously, they are one of the cutest couples I've ever seen and their
children are absolutely adorable! But, I'll let the photos speak for
themselves...

I LOVED the kids'
clothes, the photos where they are decorating the tree with their parents,
their smily faces!

This photo is one
of my favorites..

Thank you sooo
much, Wendi, thank you Benischek family for posing for my owls! You are
amazing!

The best part of
my job is to be able to make something exactly how you pictured it! This is the
beauty of handmade...

One of my favorite
"products" here at Craftaholic are the personalised owls. These are
no ordinary owls... They have a name and occassionally they have
birthday!

Each one is so
very special, because she's made for one child.. Everytime I have to sew a personalised
owl, I think of the kid who'll get it, where he will put her, what she'll
remind him and his parents! The birthday of your baby is a very special day and
parents remember it anyway, but a heirloom is always welcome :)

You chose them for
baby shower gifts, for your baby's baptism, for owl themed birthday parties or
to decorate the nursery.. You chose them for your most special moments and I
couldn't be happier... It is my pleasure to sew them for you...